Spirals
by Little Green Cat
Summary: When Tala is fired from his job, Rei makes a proposal to invite a friend to their (Kai, Tala,Rei) duplex which makes a spiraling problem hit rock bottom. Future KR, TM, and more
1. Default Chapter

The ruthless slamming of a door vibrated throughout the duplex. Inquisitive golden eyes looked up from their probing in the fridge and locked with the red head pacing back and forth in the kitchen.  
  
"Should I even ask?" Rei asked, quirking an eyebrow to the fuming Tala.  
  
"I seriously hate that bastard. I cant believe the hell he put me through! He has asked me to work overtime the third time this week and wouldn't even consider my suggestion of a raise."  
  
Rei had secluded himself once more in the fridge, hiding his giggles. Tala's face almost matched his hair.  
  
"So, I assume you finally quit the job?" Rei replied with a humorous tune.  
  
"No....I got fired" Tala sighed defeated, "I just had to open my big mouth. Jesus Christ I hate that man. I told him that I wouldn't work another hour of overtime unless I got a raise, and well Mitch-sama just said, "Then work somewhere else"."  
  
Rei peeked up over the fridge and smirked.  
  
"Wipe that damn smirk off your face kitty cat. This is not a laughing matter. I'm already behind on my rent payments."  
  
"Well, Tala dear, I hate to tell you I told you so." Rei laughed then took out the pitcher of ice tea closing the fridge door. "But, I told you so. You're lucky Kai isn't here to kick your ass." Rei laughed again.  
  
Tala moaned.  
  
"Oh god, I can't face the wrath of Kai right now. What time will he be home anyways?" Tala ran his shaking fingers through his fiery red hair and sighed slumping into a chair.  
  
Rei sat on the opposite of Tala, still smirking.  
  
"Eight sharp."  
  
Tala moaned even louder then before.  
  
"You know Tala, you could always just attempt a job at the BO."  
  
Tala grimaced. It wasn't uncommon for Tala to loose his monthly jobs. It also wasn't unusual for the ever persistent Rei to get him to join the workforce of the BBA. Rei and Kai both worked at the new and improved abbey turned orphanage. Children were educated and participated in various extra-curricular activities, including beyblading. All was funded by the BBA.   
  
And of course it always came back to when Tala first worked there. Little to say, Tala wasn't good with children. He was asked to baby-sit the younger orphans who weren't able to partake in any of the activities. The children had tied him to a chair, ripped his favorite black sweater, and almost burned his hair if Mr. Dickinson hadn't come in on time.  
  
"I know, I know. I just feel like the first time was enough. And please deal with Kai when he gets home. He always listens to you anyways kitty cat. And I know you just love talking to him." Tala smirked, winked then laughed at the rose color rising in Rei's cheeks.  
  
"Yeah, and I told you to forget about that secret I told you when I was beyond a delirious drunk." Rei replied harshly as he took a drink of his tea.  
  
"How could I ever forget that night?" Tala giggled.  
  
Of course Tala never forgot a night like that. It was Rei's eighteenth birthday in which Tala threw a gigantic birthday and invited all the teams. Tala also couldn't forget the alcohol that he picked up on his way home. He never saw Tyson run so fast in his life when the bluenette threw up on Kai's pants. It took Robert, Max, Bryan, and himself to tear Kai away from murdering Tyson He also had gotten Rei so drunk, but then later felt guilty when Rei had told him a very big secret.   
  
Rei wasn't only gay, but in love with his best friend. Tala, ever since then, had been dropping hints to Kai that a certain someone liked him....a lot. But since Kai was an obstinate guy, he only shrugged it off and went back to teaching the art of beyblading. Always with the beyblading. It was harder for Rei, though, since he worked alongside Kai almost everyday. Tala had pledged since that day that he would try to bring the two together. Tala grinned thinking of his next plan to get the two together. He just knew Kai was harboring feelings for the neko-jin. He always caught Kai staring when he thought no one was looking.  
  
"You know Tala, if you're really hurting that bad on rent right now, I have a worthy proposal."  
  
Tala raised his eyes and eyebrows coaxing Rei to continue.  
  
"I have a good friend back in China who desperately wants to leave the village. We, Kai, you, and me, also still have that extra room upstairs. I thought we could kill two birds with one stone. Invite my friend up here to stay and to pay a fourth of the rent. That will at least take some tribulations off your back for awhile."  
  
Tala sighed. "Yeah, that would help but I honestly don't think Kai would be willing to do that. He doesn't trust easily especially when it's some new stranger."  
  
Rei shrugged then laughed, "Like you said, he listens to me."  
  
Tala smirked and was about to say thank you when he heard the door open. Rei saw a flash of red a blue scamper up the stairs, tripping the whole way until he heard two doors shut simultaneously.   
  
He felt fine, that is, until Kai walked in with his ever relentless daunting scowl on his face.  
  
It looked like Kai had a ghastly day at work.  
  
This was going to be complicated.  
  
A/N: Tee-hee.....I'm totally new at this ;D  
  
Just so you know, the live in Moscow. I didn't know if that was obvious or not.  
  
Oh and the ages are-  
  
Rei-19  
  
Tala, Kai-20  
  
Tyson, Max-18  
  
Oh well. Tell me how you think. I hope its good! ^^ 


	2. Why So Tense?

Rei raised his eyebrows to the second fuming, pacing person of the day. Instead of going right into the war zone with Kai, he decided to make small talk first, like he always did.   
  
"So, how was work?" Rei managed as sweetly as he could with a toothy grin.  
  
"He got fired again, didn't he? Where the hell is he?" Kai sputtered in an enraged tone. His eyes were a blurry of blood swirls. Rei loved it when he was angry at other people. Rei knitted his eyebrows together curiously wondering how Kai could possibly read minds.  
  
"How did you know?"  
  
Kai scoffed and replaced his scowl with an amused smirk.  
  
"Every time you talk in that sweet manner with that toothy grin it reminds me that Tala asked you to do his dirty work. Plus, the fact that he was scampering upstairs tripping on almost every single thing in his way gave it away. Now, tell me Rei, please, why he shouldn't face my so called 'wrath'." Kai's voice grew angrier with every punctuated word that came from his mouth. The remnants of the smirk were gone.  
  
Rei blinked once, twice, three times, then giggled profusely.  
  
"You won't make this any easier on him or me will you?"  
  
Kai scoffed then grimaced. The ever frequent job-losing Tala was grinding on his nerves. The rent bill was piling up day after day.  
  
"Of course not. He needs to learn some responsibility." Kai rolled his eyes and plopped in the chair by Rei setting his chin on his upright palm. Rei sighed thinking on how to bring on the conversation of a new roommate. The thought literally ran trepidation through his veins. It was hard to have Kai agree with anything that big. So Rei began again with small talk.  
  
"Anything for dinner you would prefer to eat?" Rei asked, standing and walking towards the sink with his glass, dumping it into the mass of dishes.  
  
"No, we don't have any food." Kai replied, a little less murderous.  
  
Rei laughed then turned his giggling golden eyes to stare into the crimson swirls of the ex-captain.  
  
"We could pick up pizza you know. It would be nice to walk around since I haven't had time, and I'll pay. Also, I kind of need to talk to you."  
  
"By we I hope you mean you and I, and what is it that you need to talk about?" Kai inquired inquisitively.  
  
"I'll tell you later." Rei replied cryptically then yelled up to Tala's room, "Tala, we're going to get pizza, be back in about twenty minutes."  
  
With that Rei got his coat leaving a stunned Kai at the table with no room or time for argument.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Cold wind blasted Rei's face once again as he trudged on into the cold.   
  
'It's going to snow today. I can feel it'  
  
The end of October in Russia had brought upon a unusually cool autumn. The leaves littered the sidewalk painting it brown, yellow, and red. Rei walked a little more until he heard the crunching of leaves announcing his companions arrival.  
  
"What took you so long?" Rei asked amusingly.  
  
"What was that about? You kind of just left me wondering what the hell was going on." Kai aimed. Rei smiled again, pleased to have caught Kai so off guard. Kai wasn't so amused and jutted his lip out into the smallest pout known to man.  
  
"I hate it when you do that. It's almost like you have some big secret about the world that you can't tell me about."  
  
In reality, Rei loved doing this. Catching his former captain off guard sometimes led to the small pout which made Rei know why he fell in love with the blader. The lips were just so cute he could kiss them.  
  
'Ack, I can't believe how sappy I am.' Rei thought.  
  
It only took a couple of seconds of silence and walking until they reached the corner pizza parlor. Feeling grateful to get out of the cold, Rei scurried inside quickly to the warm atmosphere and smells of cheese, pepperoni, and garlic. He went to the counter to order the pizzas while Kai searched a place to sit. It was the same routine every time.   
  
A plump lady with fluffy honey hair reached the counter and flashed Rei a white grin.  
  
"Rei! I suppose you want the usual to go?" she pronounced loudly.  
  
"Yeah, the same." Rei replied smiling a bit. He started to feel uneasy about the upcoming talk that he would be going through. The war zone Tala had called it. He turned and scoped out the place where Kai would be sitting, and found him lounging at his favorite place. A secluded spot in the front where you could watch the many busy people walked by. Kai had told Rei once that it was his favorite spot because he always loved to watch the people in their own little bubbles bustle about with their own lives. It led to curious conversations about what each person was doing or thinking at that time. Rei sighed again. He couldn't prolong this any further. For Tala and his friend, Rei had to suffer just a little.  
  
He slid into the chair across from Kai silently not wanting to bother the look on his face. Kai's anger and rage had leaked from his flush face and was now replaced with one of comfort, tranquility, and boredom. He was watching the mass outside. Rei cleared his throat. Kai looked up with an unreadable look on his face. This was the perfect time.  
  
"So anyways," Rei started, "You know, this thing with Tala is only going to hurt him more so I thought that I might be able to help."  
  
"You're not going to pay his rent for him. Tala needs to under..."  
  
"No, no, I am definitely not going to pay his rent for him. Instead I was thinking that since we still have that unoccupied room upstairs that I could invite one of my friends from China to live with us and pay a fourth of the rent."  
  
Kai quirked an eyebrow, clearly interested, but then a scowl graced his lips. Kai didn't like strangers barging into his life screwing up his routinely life. He had it perfectly organized.  
  
"Hear me out. She's this great girl who just got out of school and is looking for a place to go to college. One of those liberal arts people. Anyways, she's really responsible and she could even get a job at the orphanage part time as a dance or art teacher. She's the chiefs daughter so she comes from a good family. We wouldn't only be helping her out, but we would be helping ourselves out."  
  
The scowl on Kai's face deepened. He didn't like girls that much. He found them too whiny and he already had to work with Mariah and Emily. It was true that Emily seemed more mature than Mariah, but it always came back down to the fact that they were hellishly annoying. And it would be worse that she was one of those artsy girls that always had an open mind about anything. Then again they did need the help not only with the money but around the house. And the orphanage was definitely lacking in the art department. And he could always trust Rei's words. It was something that Kai liked most about the boy, the deep trust they shared for one another. Kai sighed.  
  
"And when can this girl of yours move in?"  
  
A/N: AAHAHAHAHAH I took off time from Pre-AP English work to write this chapter. Listen, if there is anything wrong with personalities, grammar, etc. I really want you guys to tell me. I want this story to be as good as it can. Also, I'm thinking of changing the TalaOC pairing to TalaxBryan. Tell me what you think. I live to serve the reviewers! ::bows down::  
  
^.^ 


	3. Arrivals and Strange Thoughts

And so it was decided.   
  
Aya, Rei's friend would come and live with the trio. As a punishment for getting fired, Tala was instructed to clean out the room that looked as if it was a large trash can. Tala had whined the whole time asking why he had to do it and Kai simply replied that to pay back a favor you must do a favor. Of course Tala simply snorted and rolled his eyes.  
  
Now, Rei, having taking a day off from work, sat in the uncomfortable chairs at the airport patiently waiting for his close childhood friend. He was trying to predict what she would look like now after four years. He was glad that he had to take off work since Tala would be telling the rest of the White Tigers team of her arrival. He could just see now how Mariah was planning to kill him. Ever since the young age of three, when Aya had caught fire to Mariah's favorite doll, they had been at each others throats like a dog and cat.  
  
'More like a cat and cat,' Rei smiled to himself, amused at the secret joke running through his subconscious. Of course he didn't realize the yelling voice right next to him.  
  
"Rei! HEY REI!" The girl desperately tried yelling into her friends ear then insisted on acting upon violence, hitting the neko-jin on the back of his head.  
  
Rei shook out of his pleased state into a shocked then angered one. He was about to turn around and slaughter whoever just hit him when he noticed who it was.  
  
"Aya! My god is that you?" Rei exclaimed brightly, a gleaming smile set into his face.  
  
The girl giggled then started shaking her head furiously.  
  
"My god Rei, are you deaf?" she giggled more then asked, "Are you thinking of that wonder boy you mailed me about?"  
  
Rei's face instantly went red then shook away the thought of wanting to finish his killing job from before.  
  
"For your information no, and since we will be living with the "wonder boy" as you put it, you should keep your mouth shut." Aya smiled widely.  
  
"Of course."  
  
Rei took a step back to look at her. She had grown tall, although she was a little shorter than he was. The thing that amazed him the most was her hair. Four years ago it was longer than his but now it was cut short, in corkscrew curls framing her square head. Her eyes weren't hidden behind the overly large circular glasses, but instead were framed with small square, thick plastic, purple ones. Her emerald eyes twinkled from behind them.  
  
"You look different." Rei said in a calm voice.  
  
She smiled wide then pulled on Rei's bound hair.  
  
"And you haven't changed a bit Rei babe." She laughed again when she saw his disgusted look painting his face about the nick name.  
  
"Come on, lets get your bags. We should get home."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Jesus Christ, did you see how Mariah was about to pounce on me wanting to tear me to shreds? She must honestly hate that woman." Tala growled, keeping a defensive glare in his eye.  
  
Bryan flicked his eyes to Tala's slouching form on the chair next to his.  
  
"She would kill you regardless." He mused out loud.  
  
Kai snorted in enjoyment. He never missed a moment when people made fun of his friend. The three had decided to go to lunch at a small cafe down the corner from the orphanage.   
  
Tala had come that afternoon to tell the White Tiger team of Aya's arrival in Moscow. Li had been confused and excited wondering why the chief would let her go, Kevin had had stars in his eyes, and Gary was indifferent. Mariah however looked like a murderous man-eating tiger. She ran around in circles like a chicken with its head chopped off yelling "No! No! NO! Not the anti-Christ." then turned her evil glint to Tala looking like she was going to kill him. Tala had ran out of the room while Gary and Li held Mariah back.  
  
"I swear, if this Aya woman really is the anti-Christ then I don't need her help that much."  
  
Bryan snickered then met Talas eyes "What, you can't handle a prissy kitty cat?"  
  
Tala growled a second time meeting Bryan with a harsh gaze.  
  
"Not funny at all. Of course I can handle it. I mean, I can handle Rei right?"  
  
Kai shook his head then looked up from his coffee(1). "This woman will be completely different from Rei. According to him, she is very liberal, open-minded, and talkative."  
  
Bryan lifted his eyebrow smirking.  
  
"Good to have. Open-minded so she can deal with the lot of you."  
  
Tala gave him blank stare, then spoke up, "Hey, what about you, I thought you were...." but was then muffled by a hand clamping over his mouth.  
  
"I don't live there Tala dear." Bryan whispered into his ear making Tala blush faintly.  
  
Kai's eyes narrowed considerably at the pair. His eyelids lowered then he took a drink of his coffee again. His thoughts began to wonder. What would this girl be like? Would she accept the fact that she was living with two gay men and a bisexual? Of course Rei had told him she didn't mind, but he couldn't help but think she might change her mind being around the whole gang. He wondered what it would actually be like living with a girl. It was an alien notion to think of. He wondered if her personality would be like Emily's. Or worse, maybe even Mariah's. Then a dreadful thought came to mind. What if she was in love with Rei? Kai's heart started to beat faster. What if Rei wasn't fully gay, that he was bi, and that he was also in love with her?   
  
Kai wouldn't stand for it. He slammed down his fist, got up from the table, placed a five on the table, then walked briskly out of the cafe leaving a bewildered Bryan and Tala to wonder what was running through his brain.  
  
(1) He always drinks coffee in fan fics it seems! I just had to jump the bandwagon, right? ^^  
  
A/N: *sigh* I almost just wiped this story off of ff.net. I kind of thought it was a lame idea, but then my dad told me to just stick with it ^^. So you guys are just stuck with me. I really hope you like this chapter, and I will start to be putting the more yaoi-ness in here. Remember that this is my first time doing something like this.   
  
Also, Thank you for all of the encouraging reviews! It makes me feel better to know that people are reading the story ^.^  
  
Well, gotta go do some Pre-AP work. Ciao! 


	4. Fables

"It's a little grimy, but I guess I can just clean up the rest of the trash." Aya glanced about the bland room. "May I paint the walls? Oh, and can I move the mattress unto the floor?" She looked back towards Rei.  
  
Rei shrugged, "I guess so, I mean it's your room." He smiled.  
  
"Great, I don't like white walls, they remind me to much of the hospital. And I'm so used to sleeping on the ground" she smiled.  
  
A door was heard shut from downstairs and a sufficient yell surfaced to the upstairs.  
  
"I'm home!"  
  
Rei grinned, then turned to go downstairs to greet Tala. Aya still stood looking at the pigsty in her new room.  
  
Tala looked up from the fridge and beamed at Rei.  
  
"Tala, you didn't clean up that room very well. I think you need to help Aya clean up."  
  
Tala pouted. Tala didn't like to clean at all.  
  
"I know, but I had to leave to tell the gang of her grand arrival, then I was invited to lunch with Kai and Bryan so I didn't have enough time to clean up the rest of the trash."  
  
Rei quirked an eyebrow and asked "Oh? And tell me, how did Mariah take it?"  
  
"Mariah? Jesus she's here?"  
  
Tala's head snapped up at the new voice. Aya stood next to Rei and grinned, waving at Tala.  
  
"Hi, I'm Aya, and I'm guessing you are Tala, the lazy, incompetent pig?"  
  
Tala scrunched his nose up at the play insults then laughed.  
  
"Yeah, and I'm proud that I'm a lazy, incompetent pig. Oh, and by the way, Mariah almost killed me today. Jees what happened between you two?"  
  
Rei and Aya exchanged a pleased look then busted up laughing. Tala stared at the two then gave an irritated look.  
  
"What? I mean honestly, what happened?"  
  
Aya's laughter subsided until she was reduced to stray tears of glee.  
  
"That girl! First I set her doll on fire, then give her a *great* haircut late at night, and then I fall in love with Rei!" at the last comment Rei and Aya started laughing again.  
  
Rei went on, through chuckles, "Gosh, that was great. She was crying over a week saying 'My beautiful pink hair.' And then she almost puts you into the hospital when she thought we loved each other."  
  
Tala raised an eyebrow, "Oh? And were you?"  
  
Rei gave Tala an incredulous look.  
  
"Of course not Tala, the only reason I spent so much time with Aya was because she knew my 'secret.' Mariah hated her since I gave Aya most of my attention as a friend."  
  
"Oh," Tala gave the two a grin, "well I'm hungry so I'm thinking some burger place tonight. Want to come with me?"  
  
Rei shook his head side to side. "Actually I think I'll wait for Kai to get home. I want him to be at ease so he won't be tense around Aya."  
  
Aya gave Rei an all-knowing smirk. Rei caught it and before he could say anything she had begun talking.  
  
"I'll go with you Tala; you could show me where the University is located. I need to sign up tomorrow. My school sent them a letter a few weeks before I got here. They'll allow me to come in during the semester. Besides, I think Rei wants to be alone with his cuddly-wuddly teddy bear." she ended in a sugar sweet voice and a wink.  
  
Talas eye shot through the roof.  
  
"You know? I've been trying to get those two together since last year. Talk about being stubborn."  
  
They both started to laugh at the rising color in Rei's cheeks.  
  
"And when we come back home you can help me clean the room." she looked strictly at Tala.  
  
Tala cowered back and gave her a pleading look, giving up when she wouldn't back down.  
  
"Fine, fine, I'll do it! Just come on. I'm famished."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Rei had settled down on the couch after the duo left. He had been wondering where Tala was after lunch that afternoon. He should have been home, but he didn't get through the door until four. It didn't matter anyways. Rei was relaxed at how well his two friends had gotten along. Then again Aya likes everyone, besides Mariah. Now it was time to get Kai used to the idea of her being around. Rei knew it would be a challenge for Aya to break Kai's shell, but she always loved challenging people.  
  
Rei heard the door shut for a second time that day. Kai walked into the living room, fixing Rei with a stern stare.  
  
"Is she here yet?"  
  
Rei winced unnoticeably at the agitation in Kai's voice.  
  
"Yeah. Her name is Aya, remember?"  
  
"Yeah I do. Where is she?"  
  
Rei let out a calm breath. At least Kai wanted to meet her. Or maybe he just wanted to get the introductions out of the way.  
  
"Tala and her went to get burgers. Is anything wrong?"  
  
Kai looked at Rei and softened his harsh, inquiring stare and sat down on the black leather couch beside Rei.  
  
"No, I'm sorry. It will be peculiar to have a girl in the house, that's all."  
  
Rei let out a stale, flat breath, relieved at the sound in Kai's voice.  
  
"Well it's ok to feel out of the ordinary by the whole ordeal. I was thinking of taking her to work with us tomorrow so she can talk to Mr. D about a part time job. She would really like to teach the kids 'aesthetic ways of thinking'.  
  
Rei laughed and Kai suddenly felt unnerved. Rei caught the slight jerk Kai made.  
  
"Hey, are you sure you're ok? I mean, you can tell me if anything is wrong. What are friends for?"  
  
Kai smiled bitterly. 'Yeah, friends, that's all we are.'  
  
"No, nothing is wrong. I'm going upstairs to take a shower and read. Call me when dinner arrives." Kai got up edgily and walked out.  
  
Rei watched uneasily, a distressed look on his face.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The silence was getting insufferable in the car. They had had a pleasant conversation up until he showed her the University. Then she had gone completely silent. Tala fidgeted in his seat wondering if he had said anything wrong. She sat there like a bored cat staring sleepily out the window as the sites of Moscow went by.  
  
"You know," Tala jumped a little at the softness in her voice. Before, in the kitchen, her voice had sounded harsh and loud. "my grandmother told me that love is like a long, silk thread. If you sew and work patiently enough, you can make a magnificent article of clothing out of it. I'm thinking, since you're Kai's best friend and I'm Rei's we can become seamstress' together, creating a nice kimono out of them."  
  
Tala let a wry smile touch his lips. She giggled.  
  
"I catch you're drift. Like my grandmother always used to say, two heads are better then one."  
  
And there, in the car, they began to play out the details of a plan. A plan, when done adroitly and patiently, would produce something divine.  
  
A/N: Tee hee. I have so many infinitives in this story alone. Bah, verbals get on my nerves. I noticed something after I began writing this. I forgot the disclaimer! lol, so here it goes.  
  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Beyblade or any of its characters. All belong to some hot shot TV executive. I only own Aya for the sake of the sanity and plot of this story.  
  
There yah go. I hope you like the newest chapter!  
  
Ciao!  
  
^.^ 


	5. Reassurence

"No....No, no, no ,no no!"  
  
"Oh come on Rei. It really isn't that bad of an idea."  
  
"Of course it isn't. It's an absolutely horrendous idea!"  
  
Aya narrowed her eyes to slits and barred her teeth. The superlative idea Tala and her had come up with in the car was guaranteed to work. The fact that Kai's birthday was coming up was pure luck. The vision of Rei and Kai confessing their feelings for each other at an eloquent birthday dinner brought stars to her eyes.  
  
"Come on Rei, stop being a pussy..."  
  
Rei and Aya glared daggers into Tala, whom was sitting on the couch.  
  
"...cat."  
  
Aya sighed and fell down into a sitting position by Tala. She slouched slightly angry at how completely stubborn Rei was.  
  
"You know Rei, it would be completely legitimate. Just simply saying that Aya and I have to work late would be a full-proof excuse to Kai, leaving you there to wish him a very 'happy' birthday." Tala winked as Aya giggled and Rei blushed furiously.  
  
"Really Rei. I'm sure he will be delighted that I would be gone anyway. For some strange reason he absolutely abhors me!."  
  
Aya pouted, folding her arms. Rei and Tala gave her curious glance before getting back to their conversation.  
  
"Listen Rei, just try it and if he finds out, which he won't, just blame us. We'll take the heat."  
  
Rei sighed also, then slid onto the couch in between Aya and Tala.  
  
"I don't know. But I guess trying doesn't hurt."  
  
The two opposite of him smiled evilly and then jumped on Rei crying for glee.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The spinning of the blade was the only thing that he heard as he probed his subconscious for answers about all of life's misfortunes. Either Rei and Aya were in love or they were both very good friends; both possibilities unnerved him greatly. He watched as his blade spinned wrathfully almost as if dancing like fire. It always caused Kai to calm down when he could target his anger into something else, mainly his beyblade. Dranzer was drawing spirals in the dirt as it spun.  
  
Spirals. It was like everything was being hurled around in huge spirals in his life, particularly Rei. It was almost like he wanted to kill Aya every time he saw her with him. It wasn't just anger though; it was a deep pain aching in his heart.  
  
He sighed when he noticed that the beyblade had fallen.   
  
'I can't even keep that straight anymore. Here I am at work alone with nothing to do but blade.'   
  
He didn't feel like going home and seeing the two of them together. It was just to much pain.  
  
"Kai? What are you doing here so late?"  
  
'Li. Strange that he would be here.'  
  
Li was one of the few people Kai could tolerate. He was calm and lucid, like Rei, but had a more mature demeanor.  
  
'Maybe....just maybe I could tell him. Maybe he can reassure me.'  
  
"I don't feel like going home. And you?" Kai responded.  
  
"The same I guess. I'm kind of sick of hearing Mariah complain about Aya."  
  
Kai twitched at the name. He tried to cover it up but could not hide it from the quick cat eyes Li had.  
  
"I see. That is why you have been so anxious lately. Aya really is not that bad of a person. A little eccentric, a little cheerful, and a little hyper. All in all, she is a lot like Tala, so you will surely get used to her."  
  
Kai sighed. He wouldn't understand. He wanted him to though.  
  
"No, Aya is fine. The feeling she gives me when she is around Rei is not." Kai slid down the wall into a sitting position. Li slid down by him.  
  
"Oh. Yes, Rei and Aya were quite inseparable when they were children. I know you are quite fond and affectionate of him. So I guess you are just feeling threatened by her?"  
  
Kai stared at the ground, a small blush staining his cheeks, as his hair fell in his face as he grunted in response. They sat there in companionable silence until Kai spoke up in a tentative voice.  
  
"They...they don't love each other, do they?"  
  
Kai heard a ripple of giggles erupting from the usually calm boy. Then the boy started to laugh harder and harder until he was on the ground, grasping his waist.  
  
Kai pouted, something he only did in front of Rei.  
  
"I don't find it that funny Li."  
  
"Forgive me my friend, you caught me off guard with a question like that. But to answer you, of course they aren't. I remember that Mariah used to think the same thing. Aya and her would get into terrorizing fights. Besides, you should know, Rei is....*ahem*." Li's eyes went downcast.  
  
Kai smiled.  
  
"Thanks Li, that helped a lot. And you know what, I think I actually might want to go home now."  
  
Li shook his head in a grace of understanding.  
  
"Yeah, I better go too. I'm quite hungry."  
  
"Oh? You should come over. You usually don't and I'm sure Tala, Rei, and Aya would like to visit with you since they don't that much at work. We have left over pizza from the last week."  
  
Li laughed mirthlessly.  
  
"Anything to stay away from the perils of home life at the White Tigers apartment."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
(A/N) So........is it going good? or too slow? I'm not sure.  
  
Sorry for updating so slow but I went to a friends this weekend and she locked me up in her room to watch anime the whole day.  
  
She is a total otaku. ^^;  
  
So, PLEASE R&R!!!! I LOVE YOU ALL  
  
^.^ 


	6. MMMMM Pizza

The insistent talking coming from downstairs had begun to distract her from her studies. She could hear the booming laughter of Tala, the strict tone of Kai's voice, the amused voice of Rei, and a quiet, timid voice she could not identify.  
  
'I know I should go down there and see who it is, but I have way to much homework and I have to practice the new ballet moves, not to mention I have to paint the rest of my room.'  
  
'Then again, I am pretty hungry, and I do want to know who that is.'  
  
Her thoughts battled over in her mind until one finally won when Tala called up to her.  
  
"Aya! Get your ass down here!"  
  
Aya grinned and got up from her chair to stagger down the stairs to where the boys were sitting in the kitchen. Her Mary Janes squished on the carpet until she came to an abrupt stop in the doorway.  
  
There was Tala sitting at the table, Kai and Rei by the microwave warming up pizza, and the shy timid voice of Li reaching her ears again.  
  
"Hi Aya. I haven't really been able to talk to you at work since we are in different departments."  
  
Aya felt a warm crimson blush paint her cheeks.  
  
"L..Li?"  
  
Tala raised two eyebrows and then asked "What's wrong with you? Is it to hot in here again? You know that it is almost the middle of November and it could snow any moment. We need to keep the heat on."  
  
Rei laughed loudly, clearly understanding why Aya was blushing and then replied, "Aya, you'll work yourself to death with that European paint class. Why don't you sit down and have some pizza?"  
  
Tala looked between the two utterly dumbfounded. Aya reluctantly sat down between Li and Tala looking at the table the entire time. Then a thought hit her,   
  
"Oh...Kai?"  
  
Kai peeked his head out of the kitchen to look at her in the dining room. He fixed her with a questioning, cold stare.  
  
"I just wanted to tell you that Mr. D put me on the schedule for late night duty at the orphanage next Thursday, which is your birthday. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you any sooner that I can't go to your birthday dinner."  
  
Tala coughed perceptibly then spoke up also. "Yeah, same with me. So I guess you'll just be stuck with Rei." Tala winked at a blushing Rei then turned to a cold staring Kai.  
  
Kai sighed, "I don't mind. At least you wont be there to get him drunk."  
  
Li and Tala at the table laughed loudly while Kai snorted with enjoyment in the background at the fuming Rei.  
  
"That was not funny! I will never make a public fool of myself again!"  
  
Aya peeked up from burning a hole into the table and simply replied "I don't even want to know."  
  
Kai and Rei left to gather the pizza leaving Tala, Li and Aya to talk with themselves.  
  
"So Aya, what classes are you taking at the University?" Li inquired.  
  
Aya blushed slightly at the attention towards herself.  
  
"I'm taking a European art class, Art II, Dance IV, English Lit, Chemistry, Physics, Russian I, and French I."  
  
Li whistled audibly then began to talk "A lot to take on. Mostly artistic classes, eh? But why the French class."  
  
Tala began to giggle while Aya's face turned a brighter red than before. He spoke up "Because 'it's the language of love'."  
  
Right before Aya could reply with a retort, Rei and Kai came through the kitchen door with five plates of pizza.  
  
"Dig in!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Aya switched the lights off in the dining room as she stalked wearily up to her room. Tala had begged her to wash the dishes (even though it was his turn) and it had taken her about ten minutes to load the dishwasher. She needed sleep bad. She had been studying and working hard the past few weeks she'd been here.  
  
She made her way up stairs and started down the hallway. It looked as if Tala and Rei had gone to bed, but Kai's light was still burning from his room. She crept silently to his doorway and peeped inside.  
  
"Kai?"  
  
"Yeah?" was the stony answer.  
  
"Is anything wrong? I mean you've worked late this whole week and then you look like you don't get any..."  
  
"I'm fine Aya." Kai shot back with anger in his voice.  
  
Aya's eyes narrowed into slits and she bared her teeth.  
  
"Listen, I've been nothing but friendly to you this whole time living here and you've been giving me the cold shoulder ever since! I don't the hell know what your problem is but you need to get over it because I am defiantly not leaving. So I'll give you two choices, spend the rest of your life hating me, or actually try to get to know me and stop being such a cold bastard."  
  
Kai had stood rigid, looking at her with utter disbelief and surprise. He did not suspect her to be so deeply offeneded and burst out like that. It was true, she had tried to make friends with him, but he had been to blinded with anger and jealousy at her friendship with Rei, he always brushed her off. Kais eyes softened.  
  
"I apologize Aya. I was blinded by my emotions. It is true, I shouldn't be such a cold bastard."  
  
Now it was time for Aya to be completely surprised as she stared at Kai like he had grown two heads.  
  
"So......sit down."  
  
Aya lifted her eyebrow in an inquiring gesture.  
  
"What? Why?"  
  
"Didn't you just say that I need to get to know you?"  
  
Aya eyed Kai wearily for a moment before settling herself onto his carpet.  
  
"Ok Kai, what exactly do you want to know."  
  
"About you......and about Rei."  
  
A/N: OKIES!!!!! So.....how did this go? I feel like its going to slow, but oh well. I just cant wait to write the "date" for Kai and Rei!   
  
I'm thinking of putting Aya and Li together, what do you think?  
  
R&R  
  
^.^ 


End file.
